


we'll dance all night

by hamssi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Idols, Crush at First Sight, Feelings, First Kiss, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamssi/pseuds/hamssi
Summary: Donghyuck reads the title carefully as Jisung sinks down in his seat, “Na Jaemin Cute Moments, huh?” The mention of the rookie boy seems to catch everyone else’s attention, including Jeno’s, whose face is a lot less red than before. “Jisung’s got a crush.”
Relationships: Na Jaemin/Park Jisung
Comments: 14
Kudos: 223





	we'll dance all night

**Author's Note:**

> before we start i just want to thank a few people
> 
> \- _nonu_ , my baby for just being there for me :D she was the first to read this and would always check in while i was in the middle of writing so i love her thank u nonu i love u  
> \- _thy_ , she beta'd this fic (and left the funniest comments LMAO) so thank u!!! u r so lovely <3  
> \- _max_ , he recommended me the song that this fic is named after so thank u i love u soooo much
> 
> happy reading!!!  
>    
> (inspired by "summertime in paris" by jaden smith.)

Jisung crushes on (almost) every single person that he meets.

It starts a little after his thirteenth birthday, when he walks into the SM Entertainment building for the first time as a trainee and Mark Lee is there to greet him, braces gleaming in the white lights of the building. His smile is beyond dorky, but it’s charming enough to melt Jisung’s insides.

The crush ends up being a small one, but Jisung isn’t too disappointed. He’s caught Mark and Lee Donghyuck, another trainee, sharing kisses in the stairwells one too many times to even _hope_ for a chance with Mark. They look happy, anyway, and Jisung doesn’t have the heart to get in between any relationship - he’s thirteen, for god’s sake. Besides, Donghyuck is scary when he’s mad and Mark makes way too many jokes in English that Jisung can’t understand.

A year into Jisung’s trainee life, Chenle shows up and his world begins to crumble in the mushy feelings kind of way. The boy’s squeaky laugh rings too clearly in Jisung’s mind when he’s trying to sleep at night and it’s like Jisung is being haunted or something. It’s awful.

“Jisung.”

They’re alone in their walk back to the dorm tonight, their only company being the cars that speed past every few minutes. It’s a comfortable kind of lonely, though Jisung is starting to get a little more hyper aware of the other boy’s presence every time his hand brushes against Chenle’s.

Jisung lifts his eyes from where they were previously focused on the cracks of the sidewalk beneath his feet to look at the boy next to him, “Mm?”

Chenle stops walking, his fingers wrapping around Jisung’s wrist gently. The motion gets Jisung to stop in his tracks, surprise painted on his features.

This type of contact isn’t rare between them, they’ve been friends for a little over five months now, and recently Jisung has resorted to calling Chenle his best friend in his head. It still gets him a little nervous though, and it shows in the way his eyes widen.

“Have you had your first kiss?”

It’s the last thing Jisung had expected to come from the boy’s lips, and it throws him so off-guard that he chokes on the sharp intake of breath that he takes.

Jisung takes another deep yet slower breath before replying, “No, never. Not yet, at least.” He pauses to close his eyes, a little dizzy. “Why?”

Chenle doesn’t give him a proper answer, but Jisung figures that the answer lies in the press of soft lips against his own. He jumps from the sudden contact, having not seen it coming at all, considering his eyes are still closed. Jisung’s hands clench into fists at his side, lips pursing uncomfortably against the older’s, and he thinks he’s going to lose his mind from how fast his heart is beating.

A few moments later, when Chenle has pulled away, Jisung opens his eyes with so much hesitance that Chenle laughs at how ridiculous he’s being.

They don’t ever talk about it after that, but Jisung is okay with it. He’s happy to have had the experience of a proper, awkward first kiss with his best friend. The kiss only confirmed how shallow his feelings really run, along with the discovery that Chenle gets a little more insufferable with every day that Jisung spends with him.

Lee Jeno joins SM when Jisung is fourteen, and _god_ , he’s like a breath of fresh air among really bad pollution. (Read: Mark, Donghyuck, and Chenle.) The minute Jisung sees him step into the practice room, his already weak heart drops.

Jeno is good-looking and kind, two of Jisung’s weaknesses. And no, Jisung has never really had any standards, but he figures that now is a good time to set some.

Inevitably, Jisung’s heart picks up its pace every time that Jeno is around him, but any and all thoughts of the older are shut down the moment Chenle comes barreling into Jisung’s room like a madman, gushing about something that Jeno had done. It’s a short-lived crush, but Jisung still likes to write it into the books.

Jisung debuts at sixteen and a half years old in a group called Dream along with Mark, Donghyuck, Chenle, Jeno, and Renjun, who had joined them just a few months before. He finds out that Renjun is just as snarky as Donghyuck, so he doesn’t even entertain the thought of having any sort of romantic feelings for him, because that would be torture. Jisung still thinks he’s cute, though. They all are.

Dream’s concept is something along the lines of sweet and youthful, reminiscent for people beyond their teenage years. Their popularity skyrockets after only two weeks of promoting, talent and visuals being recognized in reports on famous South Korean entertainment outlets. It’s a fever dream, but they quickly grow used to the well deserved attention and praise.

Thankfully, Jisung gets to focus on his career for a couple of years without any distractions, if he doesn’t count the mini crushes on people in the crowds that beam at him when he dances for them. Or the small crush he had on Shin Yuna from Itzy when she looked at him a certain way in the hallway of a music show.

He earns the title of “Nation’s Youngest Dancing Machine” in the middle of promotions for their first comeback, the four words almost always preceded by the mention of Dream being monster rookies. Their success was unforeseen, but it certainly does not go unnoticed.

At eighteen years old, Jisung, in the most humble of ways, feels like he could rule the world.

The six boys find themselves in the practice room once again as they prepare for their fourth comeback. It’s close to midnight but their practice is far from over, despite their sweat soaked shirts and wobbly, weak limbs.

They’re in the middle of a quick ten minute break when Donghyuck calls them all over to look at something on his phone. Jisung recognizes the Music Bank stage in less than a second, but the pink-haired boy in the middle of the screen is no one he has seen before. Jisung’s eyes flicker to look at the title of the video for any hint of who is performing, but it’s concealed by Donghyuck’s fingers.

“Na Jaemin,” Donghyuck sounds like he’s in complete awe as he reveals his name. “Debuted a little over a week ago, but people are already naming him soloist of the year.”

It makes a lot of sense, Jisung thinks as he watches the screen from over Mark’s shoulder, the dance that Jaemin is doing is unbelievably difficult compared to some of the other soloists that Jisung has seen before. Not to mention, his debut song consists mostly of rap, something fairly uncommon in an industry where soloists can only get by with angelic, made-for-ballad voices. He’s impressive, Jisung will admit.

 _Na Jaemin_ , Jisung repeats in his head as he runs his fingers through his newly dyed black hair. He still hasn’t caught a good glimpse of the boy’s face, but he figures that with their comeback just a few days away, he’ll get the opportunity to share the stage with him sometime in the next few weeks.

The opportunity comes a little quicker than expected, when Jisung is on the Inkigayo stage for the final encore. Their first performance of their new song was just hours before this moment, and they’re nominated for first place. Jisung is squished in between Jeno and Renjun, anxiously waiting for the results of the fan voting when he glances past the emcees’ heads for just a moment.

Jisung makes eye contact with arguably the most beautiful boy on Earth, and his head goes absolutely empty. The boy shoots him a smile that leaves him feeling like his lungs have just collapsed on themselves, and he completely misses the part where his group name is being announced for first place because of it. He’s only brought back to reality when Jeno nudges him, shoving a mic into his now shaky hands.

It’s the first time Jisung sees him, and it’s certainly not the last.

The boy takes over Jisung’s mind like a virus, attaching himself to every single thought that runs through his poor, overworked brain. He goes home later that night to put a name to the face, only to find out that the boy is Na Jaemin, the rapping rookie that Donghyuck had been talking about just a week ago. Jisung wastes a lot of time that could be spent sleeping to watch Jaemin’s very few performances. When there are no more, he moves on to fanmade compilations, and shamefully clears his watch history when he gets too sleepy to watch another one.

Whenever they have appearances on any music show, Jisung’s first thought is to look for Jaemin. Nine times out of ten, the boy is there. (Ten times out of ten, Jisung is too nervous to approach him.)

Any time they’re in the same vicinity, Jisung meets Jaemin’s gaze at least once when he gazes for too long, but Jaemin always smiles like he hasn’t just caught a stranger blatantly staring at him. It becomes another routine that Jisung gets used to, so it’s a little overwhelming for him when Jaemin decides to interact in a way that doesn’t solely involve smiling at each other from across the room.

“Hi,” a voice that Jisung doesn’t recognize startles him as he looks for a snack.

He almost drops a chocolate chip cookie but catches it in an instant before whipping around, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Idols don’t usually interact with each other backstage, not during their precious rest time.

But _oh_ , it’s fucking Na Jaemin.

His hair is styled differently today, Jisung notices, the usual fluffy pink hair swept to the side today to reveal his forehead. Jisung goes weak at the knees, and he can feel the sweat slowly starting to collect at his hairline.

“Hey…?”

“Park Jisung, right?” Jaemin’s teeth are on full display again and Jisung is going to be sick because _Na Jaemin knows his name_ , but he nods. “You’re all everyone ever talks about. In my company, at least. All of the trainees watch your dancing videos for inspiration.”

“Oh, wow.” _Stupid, stupid mouth has a brain of its own_.

“So it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Jae-”

“Na Jaemin,” Jisung blurts out, half in a daze because Jaemin will not stop smiling at him with those charming eyes. “Funny you talk about watching videos. I watch yours. Sometimes.”

Jaemin’s eyebrow lifts in amusement and Jisung wants to bury himself six feet under because he just revealed his guilty pleasure. “You do?”

“Yeah.” And from there on, Jisung can’t stop the words that fall from his mouth. “Your debut song is really cool, I kind of wish that mine was something like it. The rapping is so unheard of, you know? My members were really impressed with how well you carried yourself despite how different your stuff is compared to all the mainstream songs on the radio. It’s cool. You’re really cool.”

Jaemin seems to be at a loss for words, shocked by the sudden praise. Jisung feels waves of heat rushing through his entire body, especially in his cheeks. He’s sure that if he were to look in the mirror, he’d see a humiliating amount of red painted on his skin. He kind of wishes he could punch himself, but that’d lead to more embarrassment.

“I didn’t think you knew me at all,” Jaemin says finally, hand raising to scratch at the back of his neck, a little bashful. “But thank you. I was nervous about the whole different image thing, but I’m glad that people like you seem to like it.”

Jisung has to question the boy’s choice of words, “People like me?” Jaemin’s expression goes from sweet to smug in less than a second, and Jisung thinks he’s missed something entirely.

“People who I want to notice me.”

Jisung freezes up, and he doesn’t quite know how to respond, but he is saved from his bewilderment by Renjun who shows up at Jisung’s side out of nowhere to ask for a cookie. When Jisung redirects his attention from Renjun back to Jaemin, the boy is halfway down the hall, being escorted back to his dressing room by a staff member. The last few words that Jaemin uttered are stuck on replay in Jisung’s mind, and it’s all he thinks about for days.

“What is wrong with you?” Donghyuck’s gaze is sharp when Jisung looks up from his phone for the first time since they got together at the restaurant exactly twenty five minutes ago.

Jisung is taken aback at the sudden hostility. “Nothing?”

“Wrong. That is the wrong answer.”

“Uh.” Jisung looks around the table to see if anyone else is noticing Donghyuck’s odd behavior, but they’re all preoccupied. Mark is flipping the meat on the grill next to Donghyuck and the rest of them are deep in conversation, arguing about a video game. Jeno looks like he’s about to explode with frustration.

Jisung looks back at Donghyuck, who is still giving him a pointed look. “You aren’t as talkative lately. It’s weird.”

“I’m not?” He’s a little surprised to hear that, considering he had just talked all of their ears off an hour ago about some video he found on YouTube about someone saving a litter of kittens.

“You’re not! Usually you spend all of your time talking but now you’re on your phone a lot more. What are you even watching?”

“None of your business.” Jisung’s response is apparently way too immediate for the older boy’s liking, because before he can even process it, Donghyuck is reaching over the table to snatch Jisung’s phone right out of his hands.

Donghyuck reads the title carefully as Jisung sinks down in his seat, “ _Na Jaemin Cute Moments_ , huh?” The mention of the rookie boy seems to catch everyone else’s attention, including Jeno’s, whose face is a lot less red than before. “Jisung’s got a crush.”

If he wasn’t being embarrassed right now, Jisung would be saying something about him always having a stupid crush, but he can’t even open his mouth. Anything and everything he says will be held against him, and he knows better than to fall into a trap like that, especially when it’s Donghyuck doing the interrogating.

Renjun peers over Donghyuck’s shoulder at the screen, eyes growing in size, “And it’s Na Jaemin?”

Jisung has had enough of hearing the boy’s name. He already has it going through his head every few seconds, so it’s torture to hear even more of it coming from someone other than himself.

“Please be quiet,” his hands drag down his face, words muffled by the displacement of his features by his fingers.

For a moment, Jisung thinks that Renjun and Donghyuck must have taken pity on him for once in his life, because it’s much too quiet and they haven’t said anything else. He’s proven wrong though, for when he opens his eyes, he sees that their attention is instead directed towards the screen of Jisung’s phone. Jisung can clearly hear Jaemin’s voice over the sound of sizzling meat against hot metal.

He groans out loud only to be shushed by Renjun, who coos at something on screen shortly after. His reaction is understandable, Jisung will give him that.

“Well,” Donghyuck finally puts down the phone after another ten minutes of Jisung hearing Jaemin’s (sweet, honeylike) voice. “I approve. Have you talked to him?”

Renjun answers before Jisung can, “I saw them talking the other day and Jisung was so shy about it.” The older boy picks up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, guiding it to Jisung’s mouth as if he were a baby. “He’s so grown up now.” Jisung opens his mouth begrudgingly, chomping down on the bulgogi with a pout etched onto his lips.

Chenle laughs from the other end of the table, and Jisung looks to see the boy with his phone raised, seemingly taking a video of the entire ordeal. He resists the urge to flip him off with much difficulty, instead choosing to drop his upper half onto the table and bury his face in his arms.

“You’re all so embarrassing. Leave me alone.” Mark drops a few pieces of freshly grilled meat on Jisung’s plate out of pity.

“Oh Jisung,” Jeno finally speaks up from next to Jisung, hand moving to massage the younger boy’s neck gently. “We will never leave you alone about your crushes.”

They really don’t.

After they find out, it’s like they become an unstoppable force that exists solely to embarrass Jisung in front of Jaemin.

It starts out with Donghyuck accompanying Jisung wherever he goes when they’re backstage, whether it’s to the snack table or the lounging area. Whenever Jaemin enters the room, Donghyuck makes a show of doing things like suffocating Jisung under his arm, teasing him out in the open in order to get Jaemin’s attention. Jisung hates it, but he also really likes Jaemin’s laugh when he can see Jisung’s obvious annoyance. Sometimes Jaemin waves, so in some ways, Donghyuck is doing him a favor.

Renjun and Jeno are quick to take after Donghyuck. They’re the ones who approach Jaemin under the guise of “wanting to make friends with people their age”. Jisung sees them walk up to Jaemin one day, and he has to turn away. In front of him, the vending machine’s soft, undisturbed whirring mocks him and his heavy breathing. He tries his best to focus all of his attention on getting a bag of chips when he hears Jeno say his name.

“Jisung is a big fan of yours. Like, a really big fan.”

Jisung chokes on his spit, his finger pressing on the number six instead of seven, and he watches pathetically as an unwanted bag of trail mix falls to the bottom of the machine. He can’t bring himself to look up, afraid he’ll see nothing but disgust on Jaemin’s face.

“Really?” Jisung thinks he can hear Jaemin smiling, but he tries not to get his hopes up. “I’m a fan of his, too. I’ve been following you all since your debut. It’s really cool to be promoting alongside people I’ve admired for years.”

Jisung looks up after he retrieves the trail mix, only to drop the small bag when he sees that Jaemin is looking right at him with a smile that is all too blinding for Jisung’s tired eyes. His face flushes a deep red color as he scrambles to pick up his snack, and he takes off in the direction of the dressing room.

Once Jisung has deemed it safe to function normally again, he plops down on the couch and rips open the bag in his hands, popping every single M&M in his mouth hurriedly as he wills his body to cool down. Mark gives him a weird look from where he’s sitting, a stylist’s hands messing with his untamed hair.

“Are you good?”

Jisung drops his head onto the back of his couch, groaning through a mouthful of chocolate.

“No.”

“Did you see Jaemin?” Mark asks right when Jisung accidentally bites down on a raisin instead of what he thought was a brown M&M. He cringes at both the taste and the mention of the bane of his existence.

“No,” He blinks. Mark knows he’s lying, and Jisung just watches as he rolls his eyes, looking back at his phone without another word.

Chenle is truly the worst of them all. He shoves Jisung in Jaemin’s direction one day when he walks by and Jisung, being the clumsy boy he is, loses his footing. He stumbles right into Jaemin, who catches him effortlessly, strong hands wrapped around Jisung’s forearms.

“Sorry,” Jisung squeaks, eyes glued to the ground as he tries to regain his balance. He can hear Chenle’s snickers, and he can hardly keep himself from scowling.

Jaemin is still holding onto him, eyes sparkling in the fluorescent lights as he beams at Jisung. That stupid, charming smile.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jaemin helps Jisung plant his feet back onto the ground, only letting go once he’s sure that Jisung won’t topple over again. “Your friends aren’t very subtle, by the way.”

Then he’s gone again, like the asshole he is, disappearing with words that are just going to drill themselves into Jisung’s mind and not leave for days. Jisung doesn’t realize he hasn’t moved until Chenle is bounding over, hooking his arm around Jisung’s neck. He’s laughing and Jisung wants nothing more than to punch him in the face, but then again, Jaemin doesn’t look so annoyed by Jisung’s friends antics. More amused than anything.

“Maybe he’s interested in you,” Mark says later that night after Chenle is done explaining what had happened earlier in the day.

Jisung and Chenle are sitting at the kitchen counter, Jisung’s face buried in his hands while Chenle munches on some Frosted Flakes. Across the table, Mark is pouring himself a bowl. (Cereal before milk, like the angel that he is. He’s the only one who would never betray him.)

“What do you know? You and Donghyuck have been in love since the second you met. There was no confusion at all between you two. Jaemin doesn’t like me, I just know it.” Jisung is dramatic, he knows, but he refuses to let himself fall deeper.

Mark shrugs. “You never know. It sounds a little suspicious to me.” He shoves a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “What do you think, Chenle?”

“I think Jisung is finally going to get a boyfriend,” Chenle says cheekily.

Jisung doesn’t hesitate to hit the boy this time.

Things change on Jaemin’s last day of promotions.

Jisung tries not to be obvious as he watches the boy perform on the monitor in the waiting room. He’s a little upset about not being able to see Jaemin backstage after today, and although they were embarrassing, he’s going to miss the little moments he shared with the boy.

When Jisung is in the hallway waiting for Dream’s turn to perform, Jaemin sneaks up on him from behind, hands meeting Jisung’s sides. Jisung jumps and turns around, his in-ears bouncing on his chest.

“Oh, hi.” He’s a little surprised to see Jaemin, considering the fact that he hasn’t approached Jisung in this manner since they first met. Jaemin has just gotten off stage, still clad in the all white attire that looks much too expensive for a rookie, beads of sweat dripping down his neck. In Jisung’s attempt not to stare, he sees Donghyuck eyeballing them while tapping Jeno on the shoulder excitedly.

“Hi.” Jaemin looks like he’s about to shit himself when he says this, though Jisung can’t exactly figure out why.

“You did well today. I watched,” Jisung utters suddenly, though he isn’t sure what compelled him to do so.

Jaemin seems to ease up, offering Jisung the smallest of smiles as he wipes at the side of his face, “Thank you.”

Jisung nods. “It’s your last day of promotions, right?

“Yeah, that’s actually why I’m here.” Jisung is a little puzzled, and Jaemin must see it on his face because he continues immediately after seeing his expression. “I was wondering if I could… get your number or something. So we can stay in touch.”

For a moment, Jisung feels like he’s in high school. He never got to experience it, but this feels a lot like how the American movies describe it, with his friends’ poorly concealed gushing and crazy nerves. His palms are getting sweaty and it’s a little awkward, but in a good way that gets him smiling just a little bit. But for all Jisung knows, Jaemin just wants to be friends and friends _only_.

Dream is being called to the stage before Jisung can even open his mouth to answer. He panics a little.

“Will you be here after we record?” In his head, Jisung pleads to any and all of the gods in the sky that they give him a chance with Jaemin. Friends or more, he’ll take anything.

Jaemin nods eagerly and Jisung feels like he can breathe again. “Yeah, I’ll wait. We still have to do the final encore, remember?”

“Right, um, okay,” he’s being ushered to the stage now, barely able to conceal his happiness as he says, “I’ll catch you later, then.”

Jaemin waves, looking just as elated as Jisung, if not more. “Okay.”

If Jisung being on his phone was a problem before, it’s an entirely bigger problem now. Jaemin texts like a twelve-year-old on Instagram, throwing emoticons that Jisung has never seen before in between every syllable. It’s a little hard to understand him at times, but Jisung learns to love it.

 **na jaemin**  
jisung!!! ^~^  
good morning hehehe  
what r ur plans for today :o

Jaemin’s contact had been something along the lines of ‘actual best boy ever jaem’ when he first put it in Jisung’s phone, but after Jisung’s mistake of leaving his phone unattended in a practice room with all of his members present, he changes it without a second thought.

 **me**  
today is a free day so uhhhh just practicing i think  
why??

Jisung barely gets to finish typing when his phone starts ringing, the display reading ‘FaceTime call from na jaemin’ very clearly. He just about shits his pants.

Out of sheer panic, he declines the call and quickly texts:

 **me**  
hold on  
in the bathroom  
massive dump  
gimme a sec

He jumps right out of bed, sprinting down the hall of his dorm with an urgency he didn’t know he could ever possess at eight in the morning if not for a schedule. From the kitchen, he can hear Jeno asking Mark what Jisung is rushing for.

In the bathroom, Jisung picks up the nearest brush and desperately combs through his unruly strands, whining quietly about how his hair never seems to cooperate. It takes him a few minutes, but once Jisung has deemed himself somewhat presentable, he runs back to his room in record time and checks his phone again.

 **na jaemin**  
oh okay  
call when ur done  
(੭´ω`)੭⁾⁾

They’ve never called or FaceTimed before, but they’ve been texting for weeks, it only makes sense that Jaemin would want to. He misses his voice, anyway.

Jisung takes a deep breath. He calls.

Jaemin picks up in less than five seconds, hood pulled over his head and camera dangerously close to his face. Jisung doesn’t know how but Jaemin somehow makes himself look unattractive, and because Jisung is absolutely out of his mind, he finds it a little endearing.

“Hi,” Jisung breathes out.

“You sure you’re not doing much today?” Jaemin asks, sitting up in his bed.

Jisung hums in confirmation, unable to form any real words. Jaemin’s hair is fluffy and unstyled today, pink strands falling over his eyes.

“Perfect! Good morning, by the way. Again,” Jaemin’s laugh is gorgeous as it filters past Jisung’s phone speakers; melodic and unfairly effortless.

“Good morning,” Jisung pauses, not quite sure what he should say next. He still hasn’t grasped the fact that he is on a video call with Na Jaemin. “What about you? What are your plans for today?”

Jaemin grins. “Absolutely nothing. Let’s hang out after your practice? If your company lets you, I mean. I know some can be strict about-”

“Yes!” Jisung interrupts, sounding a little too eager for his own good. He tries to reel back his excitement by toning down his volume and sinks a little further into his bed. “Sure, yeah. Where?”

They meet at a somewhat isolated cafe near Jaemin’s dorm, the only people who wander in are those looking for a quick snack to grab. Jisung is still careful, a white mask pulled over his nose and Mark’s red cap thrown on top of his freshly-washed black locks.

 **na jaemin**  
i’m heeeeere  
wya

 **me**  
one of the booths in the baxk  
back oops

In the middle of typing out his message, he realizes that this is the first time he’ll be in Na Jaemin’s presence without any of his members around. Jisung curses softly, pointedly avoiding looking up at all in fear of seeing Jaemin.

“Sungie.” _Oh_.

Without missing a beat, Jisung whips his head up to see the boy standing in front of the table, sporting a similar disguise as well as a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

Jisung thinks he should stand up to greet him, but Jaemin starts talking before he can even move, “Have you looked at the menu yet?”

“Hello to you, too,” Jisung’s nose scrunches up at his own attempt to stay cool. “And no.”

Jaemin laughs, the sound muffled by his mask. “Hi Jisung. Want to go order something?”

Jisung nods and gets up from his seat, following Jaemin to the front of the cafe. He looks up at the menu, eyes scanning the names of the drinks handwritten in chalk.

“Do you like coffee?” Jaemin asks. Jisung turns to look at him, shoving his now sweaty hands in his sweatshirt pockets. He’s a little jealous of how good the boy can look, even with various accessories covering up his features.

“Only iced coffee. Hot coffee is weird.”

Jaemin raises his eyebrows at Jisung’s response, turning his body to face him.

“What?” Jisung’s tone is defensive, and he resists the urge to curl in on himself, cheeks heating up just slightly. He’s very happy for the face mask.

“Nothing,” Jaemin replies, but he still sounds a little skeptical. “Can I order for you? Or are you picky with what you drink?”

“I’m not picky but… you’re paying?” The boy in front of him remains wordless as he reaches into his messenger bag, pulling out a slightly worn leather wallet. Jisung assumes that this means _yes_ , _he will be paying_. “You don’t have to! I have my card on me, I can just-”

He shushes Jisung with a finger to his own lips, “Let me have this. You can pay next time if you really feel that bad.”

Next time. Jisung’s thoughts fly out of his head. He watches Jaemin step up to the counter but he can hardly hear anything over the sound of his blood rushing in his ears. Jaemin is already thinking of another time while Jisung can hardly even live in the present. Crazy.

“Can I have a name for the order?”

“Nana.”

“Nana?” Jisung reiterates when the barista has walked a safe distance away, sidling up to Jaemin as they walk towards the pick-up area.

Jaemin crosses his arms over his chest, nodding. “It’s a nickname, just to be discreet.”

Jisung hesitates, averting his gaze to a random spot on the wall. “I like it.”

“Thank you,” Jaemin says with a hint of pride in his voice, but Jisung refuses to look at him. Not after his bold move of complimenting him.

They wait until their order is called to move back to their booth, an iced drink in each of Jaemin’s hands as they walk. Jisung peeks and silently prays that his drink is the one that doesn’t look like pure espresso. He doesn’t do so well with black coffee.

“Iced vanilla latte,” Jaemin voices once they’ve settled down and slides the said drink across the table. “For you. It’s good.”

Jisung pulls one side of his mask off his ear and brings the drink to his mouth to take a tentative sip. Jaemin’s judgment ends up being right, not that Jisung had doubted him in the first place. He doesn’t know much about coffee anyway. He’s honestly still too afraid to stray away from anything other than iced coffee with cream and sugar.

“Thank you,” Jisung tilts his head to the side, offering Jaemin a smile.

Jaemin returns the smile, though his is ten times more beautiful than Jisung’s could ever be. “Of course. How was your practice? Are you tired? Sorry for calling you out here.”

“No, no,” Jisung shakes his head, laughing softly. “Mark is- you know Mark, right? He’s recording his solo album, so we just had a quick practice. It was good.”

“I’m glad. I didn’t want to be a bother.” Jaemin sighs in relief, leaning against the back of his seat as he sips from his drink.

“You’re never a bother. I like being around you.” Oh, Jisung really does have such a stupid, _stupid_ mouth. His cheeks go red and out of pure embarrassment, he makes another dumb move, covering up his face with his mask again.

Jaemin sets his drink down on the table, grinning.

“That’s good to hear. I feel exactly the same way, Jisungie.”

When Jisung gets home later that night, Donghyuck is already waiting for him in the living room area of their dorm, the television clearly displaying a fancam of Jaemin. Jisung remembers this performance solely because it was the same day that Chenle had pushed him in front of Jaemin.

Jisung throws his keys at the boy perched on the sofa, rolling his eyes before taking off in the direction of his shared room with Renjun, desperate for the safety of those four walls. “I hate you so much, you know that?” He calls out to Donghyuck on his way.

“You wouldn’t have had a date if it wasn’t for us!” Donghyuck yells in response. Jisung thinks that is so untrue. Besides, it wasn’t even a date, it was just a friendly outing.

“How was it?” Renjun asks from his desk on the other side of the room when Jisung enters, focused on a paint by number given to him by Jeno.

Jisung drops his things on the ground, falling backwards onto his bed. “Good, I think. When’s our next free day, by the way? Jaemin’s asking.”

“Not for another two weeks.”

“Hm.”

“Hey, Jisung?”

The atmosphere of the room takes a sudden turn, so Jisung lets his phone fall onto his chest to focus all of his attention on his roommate. “Yes?”

“Do you think you really like Jaemin?”

“Huh? I mean, yeah, I think. I don’t think it’s ever going to get farther than this, though.” Renjun swirls around in his chair after putting his paintbrush in a cup of water, a frown adorning his gentle features. Jisung has never seen him look so saddened. “Why?”

“I think I have feelings for Donghyuck, but I don’t know.”

Jisung’s eyes just about pop out of his head. “But… Mark…”

“Yeah. That’s another problem. I think I have feelings for him, too.”

Their conversation gets interrupted by a knocking on the door. Renjun’s breath catches in his throat, so Jisung answers for him. “Yes?”

The door cracks open to reveal Jeno. “Mark sent me to make sure you two start getting ready for bed. We get up at five tomorrow.” Jisung nods, and the blonde-haired boy salutes them playfully before closing the door.

Renjun doesn’t talk for the rest of the night and Jisung thinks it’s out of fear of someone walking in on the conversation again, but he understands.

After he’s gotten comfortable under his sheets, Jisung swipes through the notifications on his lockscreen until a notification comes in from none other than Na Jaemin.

 **nana**  
goodnight sungie!! i had fun today :3 <3

Jisung’s heart flutters in his chest as he tucks his phone under his pillow. He’s done for.

Word gets out the next day that rookie, Na Jaemin, and Dream’s dance machine, Park Jisung, were seen together at a cafe in Seoul. Funnily enough, Jisung doesn’t know about the news until one of his managers bring it up to him when they’re in the car.

“You went out to see Na Jaemin yesterday?”

Jisung doesn’t realize his manager is talking to him until he hears the familiar name. He looks up.

“Yes, why? I thought I told you.” Jisung frowns.

His manager, Ten, merely shrugs. “There’s an article about it on Naver. Don’t you have a crush on him? I thought I heard Mark and Donghyuck talking about it.” Jisung quite literally squeaks. If his manager heard Mark and Hyuck talk about it, who knows who else could have heard? It’s horrifying to even think about.

“Okay. Yeah, that’s it. We are now done talking.”

Ten looks at him funny. “What? It’s just a crush.”

“ _Hyung_.”

A few months later, after many meetups and video calls with Jaemin, Ten calls Jisung in for a meeting with their official promotion team.

The woman at the end of the table speaks up once everyone has quieted down, addressing Jisung directly with a kind look in her eyes. “You’re familiar with Na Jaemin, all the articles say.”

Jisung is having trouble remembering her name, but she’s the one behind every project in this company. He remembers seeing her when their debut was being discussed, as well as every comeback Dream has had so far. She’s a little scary, if he’s being honest, even if she looks nice. There was a time where Jisung had caught her yelling at the new interns in the office. He doesn’t even want to imagine getting on her bad side.

“Yes.” _What is this about?_

“And you know that the Asian Artist Awards are coming up very soon?” Jisung repeats his prior answer. The woman - Bae Joohyun, he finally remembers - smiles as if she’s got life-changing news. “We’ve reached out to their company just recently to discuss the possibility of having a collaboration stage with the two of you. He’s a very good dancer, from what we have observed, and it would be good for the both of you. Is this okay?”

Warmth erupts in his chest and he struggles to hide the enthusiasm burning within him, “Yes! That would be great, I agree.”

The media is well aware of their friendship, Jisung knows this for a fact. The day that the news of Jaemin and Jisung being friends broke out, fans from all over the world ate it all up. Photos and videos of their interactions spread like wildfires these days, and whenever they are seen in the same room, their names end up trending on Twitter. It’s only inevitable that the two of them would do something as official as a collaboration stage. Jisung is excited.

Their first practice lands on the second Tuesday of December, right after the end of Dream’s promotion period. Jaemin is already in the practice room when Jisung walks in.

Jaemin looks impossibly good for a Tuesday morning, fully covered in an Adidas tracksuit with a rather dark coffee in one hand and his phone in the other. He seems to be listening to the track they’re going to be dancing to.

It’s an energetic piece, one that requires lots of practice and strength, as well as good synergy. Even though they’ve never danced together before, Jisung thinks they’ve already got that last part down pat. They get along in ways that Jisung had never foreseen.

Jaemin looks up when the door shuts rather loudly. He stands up, abandoning his drink on the floor in favor of greeting Jisung with a hug. Jisung holds his breath, his arms circling around Jaemin’s waist.

“You’re here! Are you ready?” Jaemin asks, his words coming out awfully close to Jisung’s ear.

 _No_ , _not really_. “I think the real question here is are you ready, rookie? This is your first collaboration stage, isn’t it?”

Jaemin finally lets go, taking a step back. “Yeah. I’m honestly a little nervous.” For the first time since he approached Jisung for his number, Jaemin actually looks a little fearful.

“Don’t be,” Jisung attempts to console him. “You’re really good at dancing. The media loves you!”

“Not as much as they love you, though.”

Jisung flushes, “Shut up.”

“You’re the best dancer in all of South Korea, Jisung. I’m sure you know that.”

His face flushes at the praise as he swats at Jaemin’s shoulder. He can’t say anything to defend himself because as far as Jisung knows, Jaemin is telling the truth. Jisung has been known as the best in the industry since Dream’s second comeback.

“Good morning,” the choreographer, Lee Taeyong, walks into the room, successfully saving Jisung from further awkwardness.

Jisung is already quite familiar with the man, having worked with him on every single dance he knows. Jaemin, on the other hand, looks absolutely starstruck. He bows immediately, his tone polite as he greets Taeyong. The older man looks amused when he makes eye contact with Jisung, who bows out of respect with a cheeky smile on his face.

Lee Taeyong is a well-known name in the industry, having gained his fame around the same time Dream did, whose success pointed to Taeyong getting recognized for his exceptional choreography. There is not a single idol or trainee who hasn’t heard of him, nor is there one that wouldn’t kill to work with him today. He’s crazy good, and Jisung considers himself extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work with him on the daily.

“Let’s start with some stretching, then we’ll get into it,” Taeyong says after he’s peeled off a few layers, clad in a long sleeve shirt and joggers.

They warm up to the soundtrack of Frozen, per Jaemin’s recommendation. The boy had been awfully quiet until the music started playing, now he hasn’t gone a minute without singing along. It’s cute to see him mimic the characters’ voices.

(Jisung thinks that in another universe, Jaemin would’ve made a good Prince Hans. Except he’d be so much nicer and definitely would have kissed Anna when she asked.)

When they actually start dancing, Jisung feels like he’s just put the last puzzle piece in its rightful place. Dramatic, but dancing with Jaemin just feels right. Their movements are synchronized and fluid, their individual dance styles meshing together to make something that Jisung had never imagined. Jaemin shoots him a smile every time they’re facing each other in the choreography, and every single one of them pierces Jisung right in the heart. Jisung sneaks a peek at Taeyong through the mirror, who looks amused. Prideful, even. Jisung can’t help but also smile.

They learn the first thirty seconds with ease, hitting every single beat and making their own out of the moves that Taeyong gives them. Taeyong calls it a day when the clock strikes six after they’ve finished perfecting and cleaning up the choreography so far. From where he stands near Jisung, Jaemin sighs in relief and pulls his cap off. His dark roots are showing now, although they still fade into the light pink shade. Jisung is fond of the color.

The two boys walk out of the practice room together, engaging in small conversation. It’s become easier for Jisung to talk to Jaemin without stumbling upon his words. He has a few slip ups every now and then, though.

“Tomorrow?” Jaemin asks when they’re at the lobby, feet coming to a complete stop.

Jisung can’t help but roll his eyes. “We both know that I have no other choice but to show up.”

The pink-haired boy laughs, throwing his hat back onto his head. “I know, but you wouldn’t miss it for the world. You like me too much.”

And for days, Jisung can’t help but think about how right Jaemin is.

Renjun and Donghyuck are watching Stranger Things when Jisung corners them later that same day, plopping down on the couch in between them and getting under the blanket that the two boys have draped across their laps. The lack of space between Renjun and Donghyuck before Jisung had come into the picture made it particularly difficult for Jisung to squeeze between them, but they make way, albeit a little grudgingly. Jisung doesn’t catch it, but the two of them share a little look over his head, seeming to already know what this is about.

“Am I too obvious?”

Donghyuck blinks, clearly unamused by the intrusion of their space. “About what?”

“My crush on Jaemin.”

He snickers at Jisung’s answer. “I don’t know. Renjun, what do you think?”

“I need to know!” Jisung doesn’t give Renjun any time to respond to Donghyuck’s question, though the red-haired boy is way too focused on the TV show to respond anyway. “He said something about me liking him too much and I’m scared that he knows, like, about my crush on him.”

“I bet he does. I mean, we did make it obvious.” Jisung groans at Donghyuck’s words, distressed. “What’s so bad about him knowing? I’m pretty sure he likes you too. No one just goes up to someone at music shows unless they’re crushing hard.”

“He could’ve just wanted to be friends or something,” Jisung grumbles.

Renjun finally tears his eyes away from Nancy Wheeler to reach over and pat Jisung on the head. “You’re not the only one who’s being obvious. Trust me.”

“But… I don’t think he likes me like that. You know, like, like like.”

“You have to be joking.”

“No! I swear he doesn’t.”

“I cannot believe you just said like like.” Donghyuck mumbles under his breath as Renjun says, “Jisung, you two have been on a million dates.”

“Dates?” Jisung pales. Since when have they been going on dates? All they’ve done recently is go out to their (Yes, ‘their’. They decided that the back corner booth was theirs the fourth time they met up there) little coffee shop together a few times. If those were dates, Jaemin would have specified, right?

“Yes, Jisung. Dates. You know, the biweekly meetups you two somehow make time for?” Renjun starts to sound impatient and Jisung would feel bad if he wasn’t so preoccupied with his own distress.

“He’s never called them dates…”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Well then he’s probably just as scared as you are right now. I say you just tell him you like him.”

“Yeah! It’s not really that hard. I told Mark that I liked him and look where we are now.” Donghyuck shows Jisung his lockscreen, which displays a selfie that the brown-haired boy had taken with Mark.

“Gross.” Jisung’s nose scrunches up playfully and dodges Donghyuck’s swatting hands with practiced skill. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Renjun’s gaze travel elsewhere as he shifts uncomfortably. He thinks back to their conversation that one night after meeting up with Jaemin for the first time and his heart aches for the older boy.

“I do agree with Renjun though. If Jaemin likes you, then that’s great! Date! But if he doesn’t, then at least you know and can move on.”

He supposes Donghyuck is right. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Jaemin didn’t return his feelings. Though, Jisung can’t deny that he’s been a little suspicious of Jaemin’s actions. Strangely enough, it’s a big possibility that the older boy might like him back. He really hopes so, anyway.

Taeyong ends their sixth and final practice with his usual notes then says his goodbyes and thanks, and that’s when Jaemin and Jisung take it upon themselves to text their individual managers about their plans for the night. Jaemin has invited him to hang out at a PC cafe near Jisung’s dorm. Jisung isn’t even sure how Jaemin found out about it, but he says yes nonetheless.

They walk out of the back door of the building together, Jaemin showing Jisung a video on his phone. From what Jisung can see, it’s a video of a boy dancing to Dream’s new song.

“This is a trainee from my company, his name is Dongpyo. Isn’t he so talented?” Jaemin gushes, clearly enamored with the boy when he swipes to the next video and it’s Dongpyo again. “He loves you guys. I think he’s your age, actually.”

Dongpyo is talented, Jisung can see by the way the boy mimics the choreography perfectly and effortlessly. If Jaemin wasn’t in the picture, Jisung would have definitely started losing his mind at such a cute boy covering _his_ song, but Jaemin is in the picture and Jaemin is also right next to him, gushing over this cute boy as much as Jisung would have. It gets Jisung’s blood boiling, and before he knows it, he’s frowning so hard that Jaemin takes note of it.

“Do you... not think he’s good?”

“No! I mean- Yes. Wait, no. No, he’s good, I’m just…” Jisung trails off, unsure of what to say.

“What?” Jaemin reaches out to pinch Jisung’s ear, a habit that he’s picked up recently. “Something on your mind, baby?”

Jisung bows his head in an attempt to hide how much he is affected by the name. Jaemin has never called him that before. He barely even gets to breathe before he’s speaking his next words. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Promise?” Much like a child would, Jaemin holds out his pinky, expectant.

Jisung looks down, hooking his own pinky around the older boy’s. “Promise.”

Once the PC cafe is in sight, they stop at a bench for a moment to pull on their masks and caps. There aren’t that many people in the area because of how late it is in the day, but it’s better to stay cautious in order to avoid any unwanted attention.

They settle in the back corner of the building, an arrangement that they’ve both unknowingly agreed on. Within an instant, Jaemin has already ordered two bowls of ramen and soda for the both of them.

Jisung whines, falling against the back of his chair. “Why are you always paying? Rookies shouldn’t have this much money!”

“I will never, ever let you spend money on me unless it’s Christmas or my birthday,” Jaemin says nonchalantly, opening up PUBG on his screen. Jisung is quick to follow his actions. “Have you ever played PUBG?”

Jisung nods. “Jeno and Donghyuck make me play with them all the time.”

“Are you any good?”

“Not really. I play for fun.”

Jaemin finds out merely fifteen minutes later that this is a true statement after Jisung misses about eighty percent of his shots, somehow losing against an opponent that Jaemin could have easily beat if not for his downed state.

Jaemin wails, his forehead hitting the table, ignoring Jisung’s profuse apologies that are overshadowed by his laughter. “I am never taking you here again.”

They spend another two hours playing games, switching from PUBG to Overwatch to Minecraft. After Jisung loses his life to a creeper explosion for the seventh time - Jaemin has been counting out loud - he throws a fit, pulling the bulky gaming headphones off his head and crossing his arms over his chest. Jaemin is laughing his ass off next to him, mining diamonds in a cave just blocks away from where Jisung’s character has just died.

Jaemin insists on walking Jisung back to his dorm. Jisung, weak hearted and whipped, says yes without any ounce of objection in his body. They engage in small talk as they walk, a laid-back conversation about their hobbies and interests. It’s comfortable. Jisung doesn’t remember the last time he was uncomfortable around Jaemin, always feeling at ease around the older boy. If he doesn’t count the moments where he’s beyond flustered and embarrassed.

“Taeyong hyung is lamer than I thought he would be,” Jaemin comments, eyes fixated on the sidewalk ahead of him.

“I know. You were so tense at our first practice,” Jisung teases.

“Speaking of,” Jaemin changes the topic, visibly affronted by the younger boy’s teasing. “Today was our last practice. That means our performance is this Friday, which is in two days.” _Oh_ , _time really flies_.

Jisung nods. “Are you excited? Ready?” They arrive at his dorm building and he swipes his residential card to unlock the back door.

“Far from it, but I think I’ll be okay as long as I’m with my baby.”

 _There it is again_. Warmth blooms across Jisung’s cheeks as he holds open the door to his dorm for Jaemin to walk through. “Shut up.” The door they enter through leads to a stairwell, so Jisung’s steps slow down until he’s at a complete stop. He turns to face Jaemin. A last minute thought crosses his mind and he reaches up, slightly shaky fingers tugging his face mask down.

“I’ll see you Friday?” Jaemin stands just a few feet in front of the door frame, hand already reaching behind him to open the door and let himself out again.

“Wait.” He’s really going to do it.

Jaemin’s fingers freeze in place, still clutching the door handle. “What’s up?”

Jisung doesn’t quite know where it comes from, but a feeling of certainty rushes over him as he surges forward in Jaemin’s direction. Before he can even process it, he’s pressing his lips right to Jaemin’s black face mask, his aim proving to be a little inaccurate when he lands a kiss right on what feels like the very corner of Jaemin’s lips. Hopefully Jaemin gets the message and doesn’t think that Jisung meant to just kiss his cheek.

He pulls back, taking a few steps back towards the staircase. Jaemin looks stunned, a little dazed, as he stares right at Jisung.

“Friday,” Jisung says dumbly, wholly unable to contain his smile. Then he’s running up the stairs without another glance at Jaemin’s face, who thankfully doesn’t call out after the younger boy. Jisung is sure that he wouldn’t have been able to resist. Friday is only two days away, he’ll get to see Jaemin then, he reasons with himself.

When Jisung enters his dorm, Jeno and Mark are sitting at the kitchen counter playing Super Smash Bros on a Nintendo Switch, a home cooked dinner laid out in front of them. Mark pauses their game and looks up only to see Jisung grinning like an idiot as he toes off his shoes.

“They kissed!” Jeno announces, loud enough for all of the inhabitants of the dorm to hear. Jisung hears a door burst open in the hallway, followed by running steps that he later finds out belongs to Chenle.

“You kissed Jaemin! Oh my god, you are so grown up. I can’t wait until Renjun and Donghyuck find out.” Chenle gushes, throwing himself onto Jisung who stumbles, arms wrapping around his best friend’s waist as he struggles to stabilize his footing.

Jisung looks up at the two boys in the kitchen. “Are they asleep or something? It’s only nine, isn’t it?”

“They’re cuddling in my room right now.” Mark says casually, resuming his game of Smash with Jeno after shoveling a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Jisung looks at Chenle, floored. Chenle laughs at his expression. “Maybe if you didn’t spend all of your time with Jaemin, you’d know more about the Markrenhyuck love story.”

“ _Markrenhyuck_?”

Friday comes like a slap to the face for Jisung.

His alarm sounds more obnoxious than ever when he’s waking up to it at ass o’clock in the morning. Normally, Renjun would be complaining by now, but Jisung hasn’t seen his roommate in his bed since Jisung left for practice with Jaemin on Wednesday afternoon. He can’t blame him though, sharing a bed with his two boyfriends sounds much more appealing than sleeping alone.

Dream is packed in a van, on their way to the early morning rehearsal for the awards show tonight. In between Jaemin and Jisung’s dance practices, Dream had some of their own to prepare for the Asian Artist Awards as well. They were never as intense, given the fact that they were performing songs that they know by heart.

Despite having texted a few times, Jisung hasn’t really talked to Jaemin since the incident in the stairwell, nor have the two of them talked about the incident in the stairwell. He’s honest when he tells Mark in the car that he’s more than afraid to see him in person again today. Jisung doesn’t know what to expect, and that scares him even more.

When they arrive at the venue, they’re immediately ushered into the backstage area to mic up. The awards show is outdoors this year, meaning that they’re practically forced to bundle up if they don’t want to freeze. Jisung shoves his hands into the pockets of his big, puffy jacket and looks up to ask one of his members a question when he makes eye contact with Jaemin. He’s standing on the other side of the floor, adjusting his in-ears with a beanie pulled over his head. Jisung tries a smile, and Jaemin smiles back without any hesitancy. His heart warms so immensely that he almost starts to sweat in his bundle of a jacket even with the cold weather biting at his cheeks.

Jisung finally gets to talk to Jaemin when it’s their turn to rehearse their performance on stage. He’s on the side of the stage when the older boy approaches him, toying with the ends of his sleeves.

“Hi,” Jaemin says when he’s close enough, standing to the right of Jisung.

Jisung tries his best not to stutter out his own greeting, avoiding any sort of eye contact with him. “Hey.”

“So…”

“Um.”

“We’ll talk later, right?”

Jisung nods helplessly, finally getting the courage to look over at Jaemin. He’s staring right at him, apprehensive. For a moment, Jisung thinks he sees Jaemin’s gaze flicker down to his lips, and his heart skips an entire two beats.

“Yes. Yeah. We’ll talk,” is the last thing that Jisung gets to say before they’re being called onto the stage.

They see each other again when they’re getting ready for the show. Jisung is sitting in a chair, hair getting styled as he scrolls through his Instagram feed when someone calls out his name from the door. He looks up. It’s Jaemin.

“Jaemin?” It’s then when he notices that Jaemin’s hair has been dyed to a dark brown, styled in a way that makes him look ten times more charming. “Your hair? When did... ?”

“Do you like it?” Jaemin bounds over like an overexcited puppy, fingers tugging at the ends of his strands. Jisung nods instantly, though he can’t put together any words to describe how much he likes it.

“I love it,” Jisung says, an act of betrayal by his own voice.

The rookie sits down in the chair next to him, taking his phone out of his pocket and opening the camera app to look at himself. “I wasn’t so sure about it at first, but I think it fits me. More than the pink at least.”

“I liked the pink,” Jisung mumbles, gaze locked on the strings of his shirt.

He peeks over at Jaemin who’s beaming. “I’ll make sure to go back to pink for you one day, then.”

Jaemin’s performance is set to be right before their collab stage, then it’ll be Dream’s turn to perform. Jisung is undeniably anxious for tonight, as he’s always been, but now there’s more for him to anticipate than just the performance. The promise for a talk later in the night gets Jisung’s breathing a little uneven.

He’s standing in one of the wings of the stage, shivering as he watches the emcees for the night, Kim Doyoung and Im Nayeon, hand over an award to Itzy. Jisung’s mind wanders for a moment, recalling the momentary crush he had on Shin Yuna, and he laughs to himself. It’s colder than it was in the morning, gusts of wind hitting his body from every direction and with his lack of a jacket, he has to rely on his own body heat.

The lights dim and the opening notes of Jaemin’s debut song echoes into the dark of the night. A spotlight on Jaemin is all it takes for Jisung’s head to start spinning, the boy looking as beautiful as ever. Another memory reveals itself of the first time he had ever seen the boy perform, pink-haired and blurry on the screen of Donghyuck’s phone. Jisung thinks that he looks just as mesmerizing now as he did before.

Jaemin captures the crowd with every move he makes, lyrics flowing out of his mouth smoothly. At one point in the performance - Jisung sees it through the monitor - Jaemin winks at the camera, a skill that Jisung could never master even with four years of experience on stage.

Before he knows it, Jaemin’s performance is ending, cueing the start of what they’ve prepared for for weeks.

The moment Jisung takes a step onto the stage, he tunes out the sound of the crowd and focuses his eyes on the boy in front of him. It’s just them now; Jaemin and Jisung. From where he stands just a foot away from Jisung, Jaemin blows him a kiss in the dark and Jisung laughs, tuning out the sound of the crowd with every breath he takes. He doesn’t concentrate on anything but Jaemin.

Their performance is almost nothing like their practices. If Jisung thought they were good then, they’re about a million times better now. There’s an energy that wasn’t there before, present in the way that they move together; the way that they execute these practiced movements like no other.

Jisung is slightly breathless by the time they hit the twenty second mark, unable to tear his eyes away from the other boy on stage. He isn’t sure if it’s the dance or if it’s just Jaemin’s overall presence. Their eyes meet sometime in the middle, and Jisung can’t help but smile despite the mood of it all. He thinks to himself that Jaemin has never brought anything but happiness to his life.

Jisung doesn’t have time to process anything or catch his breath, because by the time the music stops and the cheering of the crowd ensues, the members of Dream are running to their spots on stage. He catches Jaemin’s eye just as the boy is leaving the stage and the brown-haired boy shoots him a thumbs up. All of a sudden, Jisung thinks he has all the energy in the world again and starts off Dream’s two-song stage with nothing but pure exhilaration blooming inside of his chest.

Jaemin, unsurprisingly, is the first to greet him after he’s gotten off of the stage, beads of sweat dripping down his face and the side of his neck. The cold still plays at his fingertips, but it doesn’t bother him, not when Jaemin is pulling him into a hug and enveloping him with his warmth.

The brown-haired boy stands off to the side while Jisung is getting all of the sound equipment off of his body, clad in a velvety, maroon suit. Jisung can’t help but stare, but Jaemin isn’t bothered at all, instead returning the stare with a look of contentment.

When Jisung is no longer preoccupied, Jaemin pulls him down the hallway until they’re entering his empty dressing room. They still haven’t exchanged any words, so it’s more than confusing to Jisung when the first words that Jaemin utters is:

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry,” Jaemin shakes his head, reaching out to take one of Jisung’s hands in his own. “Just trust me.”

“Okay.” Jisung is skeptical, but his eyes flutter shut anyway. He feels himself getting pulled forward until his body is right up against Jaemin’s, his breath getting caught in his throat at the proximity.

The kiss he was expecting never comes, but Jaemin’s lips brush against his when he speaks. “You did really well today.”

“Are my eyes still supposed to be closed?” He gets a poke in the side for this. “Ow, sorry! I was just wondering…”

Jaemin sighs, breath fanning right over his lips. “I’m trying to be romantic here, Jisung.”

Jisung nods, squeezing his eyes shut still. If he’s honest, he doesn’t think he’d be able to open them, anyway, not with Jaemin so close to him. He’d probably get overwhelmed by the sight. “Okay, sorry. Continue.”

“That’s all I really had to say,” Jaemin mutters, then Jisung feels Jaemin’s lips on his, and it’s so much better than his first kiss with Chenle already - no offense to him. Jisung kind of wishes he had done this in the stairwell just a couple of days ago, because the mask really held him back from experiencing this earlier.

Jisung can’t help but whine slightly when Jaemin pulls back, chasing after him. Luckily, the older boy indulges him for just a second, pressing another quick kiss to his lips before taking a step back to distance himself from Jisung and letting go of his hand in the process.

“Your contact name in my phone has been ‘baby’ ever since we met,” Jaemin reveals at the same time as Jisung blurts out, “I think I’m in love with you.”

“Oh.” Jaemin says. “Well, I think I’m in love with you too.”

Jisung outright blushes at the words that have just come out of Jaemin’s mouth. “Okay. That’s cool.” And to his utter dismay, he throws up a thumbs up.

Jaemin laughs out loud at this. “God, you’re such a fucking baby.” He pauses, looking as if he’s contemplating his next words. “But um, hey, I actually had something to ask you.”

“Ask away.” He lets his hands fall to his sides, clutching his pant legs with all of his life in order to stop himself from making any more embarrassing motions. He can’t afford to mess up any more in front of the actual love of his life.

“What would you say if I asked you to be my boyfriend?”

(Spoiler alert, Jisung says yes.)

Jisung meets up with the rest of his members in their designated spot for the award show, finding his seat in between Chenle and Mark. They’re much closer this year than they were in previous years, right in the front row next to the stage. He remembers the days when they were situated in the back with all the other rookies. A feeling of pride overwhelms him upon thinking of Dream’s success.

Chenle leans over. “Is Jaemin a better kisser than me?”

Before Jisung can retort, Doyoung is back on stage to announce the winner of the rookie soloist of the year award. Jaemin is nominated, and Jisung already knows he’s going to win. No one in the world compares to Na Jaemin.

His judgment proves to be correct. Jaemin walks up the pathway to the stage, waving to the crowd and bowing to every senior he passes. When he walks by Dream, Jisung gets elbowed in the side by Chenle, but he hardly notices the small attack due to Jaemin going in for side hug. The crowd’s screams intensify at the interaction, and Jisung’s heart seems to agree with the overt reaction.

Jaemin looks elated as he receives the award, smile shining a lot brighter than usual. He begins his speech with the usual thanks that idols give, mentioning his company, choreographers, managers, and anyone else that comes to mind. When he nears the end of his thanks, he looks over at Jisung, eyes twinkling in the lights of the stage.

Jisung chooses this time to be a more appropriate to give the boy on stage a thumbs up, and Jaemin’s laughter rings throughout the arena, as beautiful as ever.

**Author's Note:**

> things u should know (and things u might have missed)
> 
> \- jenle and markrenhyuck. yes, jenle are together let's just say they're a very lowkey couple  
> \- jaemin had a crush on jisung long before jisung even knew who he was  
> \- jaesung's dance collab was supposed to be a really serious one so that's why it was kind of significant when jisung smiled in the middle of it??? AT LEAST i thought it was pretty significant  
> \- taeyong is a nerd  
> \- jisung calls it a small crush on shin yuna but he still shits himself every time she gets even remotely close to him, she is just that pretty (HAPPY YUNA DAY)  
> \- chenle was the only person jisung had ever kissed before jaemin 
> 
> i hope u enjoooyed cause i really really loved writing this
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/m4rksung) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/honeychenji)


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